Construction To Begin On Nine Mile Project Neighbors Express Concerns About Effects Of 52-Acre Development

Representatives of developer Buster Heitman detailed new plans Monday for developing 52 acres of land east of Nine Mile Road, near Rifle Club Road.

About two dozen neighbors attended a community meeting, some expressing concerns about traffic, schools, the height of an apartment building and a proposed Alzheimer’s patient care facility.

An earlier version of the Riverside Village project was approved by the city two years ago. The revised plan includes 102 houses, five six-plexes, a 12-unit apartment building and the 52-Alzheimer’s patient facility.

Construction of the home for Alzheimer’s patients is scheduled to start in early February. The first homes and duplexes could be built next summer.

Riverside Village will be similar to nearby Kingspointe, which also includes apartments, a convalescent home and single family homes.

Rifle Club Court, across the highway from Rifle Club Road, is the only access to the development.

Commuter traffic is already heavy along Nine Mile Road, making turns in and out of neighborhoods difficult.

Heitman has contributed almost $90,000 to the Washington State Department of Transportation’s improvement of Nine Mile Road, adding a left-turn pocket and leftturn lanes to help ease congestion from existing developments.

“It’s like the last guy at the dinner table getting stuck with the bill,” he said.

Heitman has agreed to install a traffic signal after 75 lots are built.

He said he would consider adding a light earlier, especially if traffic congestion affects the home sales.

“That whole street has greatly improved with our participation,” Heitman added.

“We’ve been an extremely good neighbor in that regard,” he said.

A few neighbors were concerned about traffic generated by the Alzheimer’s patient facility and the possibility of patients escaping.

Darren Singer of Alternative Living Services, which is developing the care home, showed pictures and described a gracious, secure building. Rooms are oriented around a “town square” with shops and dining for the patients.

“Alzheimer’s patients tend to feel confined,” said Singer. “The town square gives them the feeling of being out and about and also helps jog their memories.”

Singer said the facility has a low traffic impact and quiet residents and will fill lots like those along the highway that are less desirable for homeowners.

“Most neighborhoods are more interested in having a facility like this than some of the alternatives,” said Michael Hickey, with the Neil Walter Co., also involved in designing the facility.

A 12-unit apartment building has also been added to the plan. It will be either two or three stories, in a corner of the parcel bordered by Nine Mile Road, the North Side Landfill and Rifle Club Court.

Heitman said full build-out of the project depends on the economy, market and demand.

, DataTimes